


Z is for Zomp

by Dusty_Skyes



Series: Letters of the Rainbow [26]
Category: Aladdin - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Abu is an Aipom, Iago's a Chatot, M/M, Serious AU, let's just pretend this one doesn't exist shall we, preslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 14:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9661547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusty_Skyes/pseuds/Dusty_Skyes
Summary: The first person from the palace that Aladdin had met, surprisingly, was not Jasmine. In fact, it had been Jafar. He'd watched in amazement as the powerful magician had stood atop the walls surrounding the city, easily driving off the invading force with massive magical attacks, his Pokémon right behind. The bandits hadn't been back since. That had been almost five years ago and Aladdin had fallen head-over-heels for the elder man right then and there. Now he was twenty three and running for his life.





	

 

* * *

 

The first person from the palace that Aladdin had met, surprisingly, was not Jasmine. In fact, it had been Jafar. He'd watched in amazement as the powerful magician had stood atop the walls surrounding the city, easily driving off the invading force with massive magical attacks, his Pokémon right behind. The bandits hadn't been back since. That had been almost five years ago and Aladdin had fallen head-over-heels for the elder man right then and there. Now he was twenty three and running for his life.

He glanced down at the three loaves of bread in his arms and then back at the guards chasing after him. _Is this worth it?_ he asked himself. Then he thought of the starving little boy and girl he had met three days ago and decided that, yes, it was worth it. Very much so. Aladdin picked up his pace, skidded around a corner and glanced around, jolting slightly when his Aipom, Abu, landed on his shoulder. Seeing nobody, he whistled softly and hissed, “Bāsim,” under his breath. His Gengar slithered from the shadows and made a crooning noise. A shout came from behind and the brunet panicked, clutching the bread tight to his chest. “Hide me. Now.” 

Gengar cackled and pulled him into the shadows in the same second. Moments later, the guards ran past and Aladdin breathed out a faint sigh of relief. After making sure that they really were gone, he asked Bāsim to release him back onto the streets. One more glance around proved that there was no one near and Aladdin slipped into the back alleys. Living behind a pile of abandoned wood was the little boy and girl he'd met. “Here,” Aladdin said softly as he handed each of them a loaf of bread. It would last them the rest of the week if they were careful.

“Thank you,” whispered the girl. She split hers in half and began nibbling at the soft inside, making sure that she didn't spill a single crumb. Her brother followed suit with his own loaf. Bāsim slid out of the shadows and settled down at Aladdin's side and he ran a hand across the purple spirit. It rumbled happily and closed its eyes, leaning into the young man's fingers.

“Geng,” it purred out.

“What is that?” the boy asked. “I know it's a Pokémon, but not which one.”

Aladdin smiled. “Bāsim is a Gengar. He's been with me since I was little when my mother gave me a Gastly. Normally you're supposed to trade to get Haunter to evolve, but Bāsim forced it to save my life.”

“Wow,” the girl murmured. “That's amazing.”

“Not as amazing as Jafar's Salamance,” Aladdin returned. “I saw him defend the city against bandits a few years ago. The Dragon-type _decimated_ the attackers.”

The two children giggled and then waved goodbye to him. Aladdin smiled and pulled Bāsim's Pokéball out of his pants. It was one of the few things he'd bought honorably. All six of the Pokéballs holding his team had been bought with what money he had been able to scrounge up. He'd never registered what was in them, but at least the guards couldn't nail him for stealing Pokémon.

Aladdin's entire team, except for Bāsim, were rescues. His Blaziken, ʻĀṣim, had once been an unwanted Torchic. The poor fire-type had been abandoned by its former owner for being too weak and Aladdin had found it shivering in the rain. It had taken a long time for it to trust him, but the brunet had managed it in the end. Now, Blaziken was a powerful Pokémon and Aladdin gleefully laughed at the former owner's mistake. The fool hadn't realized what a gem the Torchic had been. For, you see, this particular Torchic had its Hidden Ability Speed Boost instead of Blaze. Now ʻĀṣim was his most powerful Pokémon. And after a turn or three, his fastest as well.

Bāsim had been a gift from Aladdin's mother when he had been young. She had given him the Gastly on his sixth birthday, telling him, “Raise it well, little one.” And Aladdin did, treating the Ghost-type well and sharing everything. He talked to the spirit, helped it plan pranks, and generally listened. No matter how fun loving Bāsim was, the Pokémon was always able to tell when something wasn't right. The Gengar was the sneaky one of the team, casting illusions to look like other Pokémon and fighting from the shadows. It enjoyed playing Cat and Mouse with its opponents, poisoning them and then fading away to mess with their minds. ʻĀṣim might be the head on fighter, but Bāsim was the cunning one.

Fakhr came as a surprise. Aladdin hadn't been expecting to trip over a small, severely injured Starly on his way to the market one morning. He'd spent days patching the little Normal-type up, spending almost all he had on medicine and food for the Pokémon. When it had recovered, it stuck by Aladdin, cooing happily. Bāsim had laughed itself sick when the Starly had chirped out a “Mama!” Eventually Aladdin gave in and named it Fakhr. Yet, no matter how small the Pokémon was, it fought bravely, leveling up quickly and evolving within days of joining Aladdin. Soon the brunet had a larger than usual Staraptor on hand, and he quickly went out to buy a Pokéball for the bird. It was the only way he'd be able to keep it.

Bahir had been even more of a surprise than Fakhr. A shiny, male Ralts with its Hidden Ability and perfect Nature? Aladdin knew it had been bred to be like that. Usually he would have brought such a Pokémon to the Breeding House in the Bazaar, but the bruises it had combined with the flinching convinced him otherwise. Stealing a Pokémon from a nice person was one thing, but not returning a Pokémon to an abusive owner was another story entirely. And so Bahir had stayed with their rag-tag group. Aladdin had to be especially careful when leveling it up enough to evolve, mainly due to the fact that there was no possible way for him to ever own a Pokémon like Bahir. Though sometimes Aladdin would wish that Bāsim and Bahir had never met. The two were pranksters and leaving them alone together was a horrible idea. A Pokéball was necessary for Bahir and Aladdin had managed to scrounge up enough money to buy a Luxury Ball to suit the Ralt's expensive tastes.

Mousa was a stranded Horsea that Aladdin had rescued from an Oasis. He suspected that it had been snatched up by a large bird of prey, only to be dropped when it fought back. Luckily the small Pokémon had landed in a pool of water, but in the desert heat, it was quickly drying up. It cried loudly, desperate to be saved, and Aladdin had heard. The brunet thanked every God he knew that he'd had an extra Pokéball on hand that day. Otherwise the small being would have died. The Horsea smoothly integrated itself into their group, soon evolving into a Seadra and then Kingdra through the use of a Dragon Scale they'd found. Mousa had the same strategy as Bāsim, often flooding the battlegrounds so that it could hide beneath the surface. With its ability Sniper, the Kingdra never missed an attack, nailing its opponent right where it would hurt most. Aladdin was just thankful that Mousa lowered the power of its attacks when playing with him and the others.

Ḥamza had been a fossil that Aladdin had recovered. Or rather, he'd rescued the small Anorith from a group of Fearow that had been trying to rip its shell open and eat it. Bāsim had chased the birds off with an overpowered  _Dazzling Gleam_ that had sent them scattering into the sky and Aladdin had spent the next twenty minutes trying to coax the Anorith out from under its rock. Following that, he'd spent the next week keeping his Staravia from eating the poor Bug-type. Unluckily for Staravia, Anorith knew  _Rock Slide_ and Aladdin spent the hour after that healing the Normal-type. After that, for some weird reason, Fakhr and Ḥamza began to get along and the brunet found himself making the trip out to the Bazaar to pick the fossil up a Pokéball. 

**oOo**

Not even three days later, Aladdin noticed Jafar having trouble with one of the merchants. He sighed, made sure that all six Pokéballs were out of sight, checked that Abu was on his shoulder, and sauntered close enough to overhear their conversation. A nearby guard glared at him, but the brunet paid no attention, instead straining his ears and listening carefully.

“...Refuse to pay that,” Jafar was snarling. “That ridiculous price for such an amount? Not going to happen!”

Callisto, damn bastard that he was, scowled, barely managing to hide his smirk. Jafar might of missed it, but Aladdin knew the merchant well and saw it. “Well then. I guess you won't be getting any.” He began to put his stock away. Jafar's face darkened and Aladdin could see his inner turmoil, questioning whether or not he should pay the exorbitant price. The Grand Vicar's hands slid towards his money pouch and his gaze dropped towards the table, completely missing the greed that glowed brightly in Callisto's eyes. Aladdin sighed under his breath and smoothly stepped forward to lean against the counter. 

“Hey, Callisto,” he said, his lips quirking up smugly.

Callisto eyed him warily and began to sweat. “Aladdin,” he said, voice filled with false delight.

“Nice to see you, too. Did you have fun last eve?” the brunet asked and watched with glee as the merchant blanched.

“Erg,” Callisto muttered, knowing full well that he was trapped. “I did. What the hell do you want?”

Aladdin leaned in and smiled innocently. “Sell properly or it's all over the Bazaar by noon. Is that understood?”

Callisto nodded and sighed, watching as Aladdin pushed away from the counter and vanished into the crowd. He then turned to Jafar who had been watching quietly and named the proper price. Jafar's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't comment, instead paying smoothly and collecting his merchandise and turning back towards the palace. The head of the guards walked beside him and the Grand Vicar took the chance to lean over and ask, “Who was that?”

“That,” the captain grumbled, “was an annoying street rat. I think his name's Aladdin.”

“The merchant called him that.”

“Anyway, he's always swiping bread and running off and we can never catch him. I'm positive that he's got Pokémon, but there's nothing registered under his name. He did buy six empty Pokéballs a while back, though. It wouldn't surprise me if he just didn't register what's inside them. A lot of people do that.”

Jafar eyed him carefully. “Is that even legal?”

He shrugged. “Not really, but no one cares.”

**oOo**

Almost a year later, Princess Jasmine was paraded through the streets. Aladdin saw her and barely managed to contain a snort. There was something off putting about her, an almost spoiled aura that followed her like a heavy shroud. Aladdin thanked every God he knew that Bahir had taught him how to read people's auras. He sighed and slipped away, melting into the throng of people and disappearing. Aladdin, so intent of getting back to more important things, did not notice Jafar watching him from a nearby rooftop. The Grand Vicar wasn't required to be in the parade and so he took the time to actually look for the young man he'd seen many times. Eventually Jafar spotted him standing at the front. Aladdin didn't look impressed with Princess Jasmine and soon slipped back into the crowd.

Magic, he decided, would most definitely be useful in this situation.

Jafar faded out of view and began following Aladdin through the crowds, only pausing when an alarm went off in the back of his mind. It was one he'd placed in the Sultan's quarters, only to be used if he truly was needed. The vicar cursed under his breath and abandoned his search, transporting himself back to the palace. Inside the room, the Sultan was waiting, pacing back and forth in agitation. “This is the last straw,” the man seethed the moment he saw Jafar.

“Oh, for the love of.....” Jafar muttered under his breath before asking, “What is it now?” a little louder.

“It's the princess!” the sultan exploded out. “She's gallivanting around like she's got no responsibilities or anything!”

“If you're that finished, why don't you just marry her off?” Jafar asked. He was done with the conversation, instead wishing that he was  _anywhere_ but here at that moment. 

The sultan paused before nodding and hurrying out of the room. Jafar turned towards the window and glanced out, noticing his Chatot slide out of the nearby shadows. Iago chattered loudly. “Issues, sire?” he asked.

Jafar gave the Chatot a look. “What do you think? I'm practically playing babysitter for the princess. But as long as I get the throne in the end, it will all be worth it.”

Iago gave his master a suspicious look. “And the Aladdin boy?”

“He may be useful. For now he's a way to pass time. Now, hush.”

The Chatot squawked indignantly. “No need to be rude to Iago. Chat!” He leapt away from the Arbok styled staff that his master always carried and took off through the window. If Jafar was that distracted by this Aladdin, then maybe Iago should check in and see what was up.

**oOo**

Iago the Chatot flew down a nearby alley, cursing the stupidity of the guards. He was not a thief! He pulled up sharply and crested a nearby wall, only to shriek in pain when a spear cut through his wing. Dark blood sprayed across the wall and he fluttered to the ground that was well over thirty feet below him. Iago's eyes slipped closed and he mentally apologized to Jafar for not being able to return. He didn't see purple hands shoot out of the shadows, nor did he feel them catch him seconds before he hit the ground.

Then Iago woke up to a young man's face. “Oh, good,” he said. “You're awake. I was beginning to get worried. Damn guards really did a number on you. You're Iago, right? I've seen you with Jafar a few times and your color combination is really distinctive.”

“Iago's really confused,” the Chatot muttered.

The young man laughed. “Bāsim brought you to me severely injured. I don't have much in the way of medicine, but it was enough to save your wing and heal you back to health. I'm Aladdin.”

Iago's brain froze. This was the Aladdin that his boss had been stalking? He was nothing like the Chatot had expected. He blinked rapidly and decided to focus on something else. “Bāsim?” he asked weakly?

“My Gengar. He caught you before you hit the ground. Which is good, because I wouldn't have been able to help you if you  _had_ hit the ground. For that matter, I don't think  _anyone_ could have helped you.” The Gengar behind him--and when had it appeared?--cackled gleefully and waved hello. It was like any other Gengar he had seen, healthy and mischievous.

“Hello,” Iago returned, wearily raising a wing in response. He hadn't even realized that he'd opened his mouth again until the sentence was already out. “Jafar's interested in you. You confuse him.”

Aladdin's eyebrows shot up. “Is that so?”

Iago winced. “Yes.” He spent the rest of the day recovering and being amazed by the young man's team. He didn't even think it was possible to  _get_ a shiny Gardevoir, they were that rare. 

(He's going to get his master and Aladdin together. Somehow. He'll swear his feathers on it.)

 


End file.
